Multi purpose church buildings

In recent years, church layout and the use of church buildings has shifted from worship-only sanctuaries to multi purpose structures with counseling centers, classrooms, gyms, youth centers, and expanded social facilities. This shift has become even more prevalent in certain areas of the country.

According to research conducted by Christianity Today, the fast-growing Sun Belt region has seen a greater number of new congregations on modest budgets, compared to the more established churches in the slower growing northern areas. This also identifies some differences in architecture with new congregations tending to start off their ministry with multi purpose structures, providing maximum flexibility and use of their church buildings.

One of the most commonly accepted ideas is that alternative multi purpose church buildings are more cost effective, providing space that is flexible and easy to set up for a variety of activities. This may be true, depending on the ministry. Although alternative multi purpose church buildings may be less expensive to build, such a church layout may not support the purpose of the church, resulting in a waste of precious funds. How your ministry envisions its use of church buildings to meet current and future needs is unique to your ministry.

At Siebenlist«Architects we do not follow cookie-cutter design but rather treat each and every church building or renovation project as a unique project. Although immediate needs of your church and the goals of your congregation are usually good indicators of what type of building should be built - there are many influencing factors, from the history of the church and its mission to growth projection and budgeting, that should be consider as well.

Choosing to build multi purpose church buildings has many advantages for congregations of any size:

• minimum cost for maximum space
• maximum space utilization 7 days/week for many different ministry needs
• maximum outreach with a relaxed atmosphere
• maximum community relationship building

Many view the downside of multi purpose alternative church buildings as lacking traditional aesthetic design, though that isn't always the case. In general, traditional buildings and multipurpose alternative church buildings have only one major difference and that's ceiling height.

With the expanded use of church buildings, flexibility is key to getting the most use from your facilities at the lowest cost. By identifying the use of current church buildings' layout, suggestions for renovation or reconfiguration can be made. Multi purpose church buildings are often the solution for congregations looking to quickly and easily reconfigure space to meet multiple ministry needs, but such designs are not the solution for every congregation.

The first step in any successful building project, whether multipurpose or traditional in design, is for your architect to listen to your church building ideas, your dreams for the future, your needs for today and then take them a step further. Custom designed functional areas such as church offices, music spaces and fellowship halls should be integrated into the church layout according to the unique operation of your church to help you facilitate your ministry without losing site of its image. Your church building should in no way dictate your ministry, but rather your ministry should influence and shape the facility.